Towards the end of January, I was lucky enough to spend Saturday morning perusing the farmers market across the street from my apartment. The Virginia Avenue farmers market is relatively small, but it’s 100% organic. I’m really blessed to have one right across the street. On this particular morning, it was a little cold outside and I bundled up in a jacket, hat, and scarf. These are things that one doesn’t usually get to wear in Southern California, so when it gets even a little chilly, I seize the opportunity. In line with my winter fantasy, I decided that I really needed to make a slow-simmered soup. I went without a shopping list or any agenda in hand with the intention of browsing the produce and letting something “speak to me”. Of course, the produce that did the most speaking was located in the stall of a man with a very cute British accent. In addition to the Queen’s English, he also had a bin full of very tiny carrots and parsnips. Now, I wasn’t sure that I really liked parsnips, but I do like carrots and I do like accents, so I was willing to take a chance. I also picked up some ginger. While I have only just begun to appreciate ginger for its medicinal qualities, I have always loved the taste. When I used to be able to hold my liquor, my signature drink was a whiskey and ginger ale with a maraschino cherry.

Carrot and Parsnip Soup

pound of baby carrots and parsnip, peeled and cut into slices

1 cup of vegetable broth

1/2 a cup of soymilk

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/3 of an onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1. Sautee minced garlic, onion, and ginger in a few tablespoons of olive oil until the onions are caramelized.2. De-glaze the pan by pouring in a cup of vegetable broth and stirring until the bits stuck to the pan start to loosen. Pour contents of pan into a pot with the carrots. Add water as needed to cover.3. Now this is the part where I left them in a medium crock-pot for 6 hours, but generally 6 hours in a crock pot equals about 1 1/2 on the stove. You have to get the carrots really tender for the next part.4. Let the soup cool and pass it through a food processor. Alternatively, you could use a potato masher, but it would be chunkier.5. Return to pot and bring to a simmer, add soymilk and cinnamon to taste.yields 2 servings at 160 calories each